Cancellation charge fair?

emmarouth

I recently moved from a 1 bedroom flat (where I was the sole occupant) to a shared property with 6 other professionals. When I rang Santander who provided my contents insurance I was told their underwriter could no longer provide cover as I was living with non-family members and told me my policy would have to be cancelled.

I was then charged £92 by Santander - £80 for the remainder of my year policy and a £12 cancellation fee. I disputed these charges as I felt it was unfair that I was being charged for a service that Santander was now unable to provide, and made it clear that I didn't want to cancel. However I was told these charges could not wavered by the customer service adviser.

I am considering making a more formal complaint about this as I feel it is shameless profiteering to charge a customer a cancellation charge when it was in fact Santander who cancelled on me and not the other way around.

However, before I go to the effort I just wanted peoples opinion on whether I have a case.... I know insurance companies can be quite slippery with their T&Cs, but it doesn't seem fair to me!

mikey72

The £12 is ok, but as they couldn't offer insurance it would have been nice if they had waived that.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/54/insurance.htm

The premium should be pro rata for the period you were insured for.

Write a letter of complaint, and refer it to the FOS if they have not charged pro rata.

Buzby

Unfortunately, it was you who changed the situation - further complicated by paying yp the insurance rather than paying in full when taking it out.

When a risk changes marketly, often underwriters will state that they are unwilling to cover the risk, and to be fair you went from a situation of having your own locked door, to one where up to 6 other people could have access to your property, leaving the insurer exposed to a risk of theft, damage or loss.

You will have agreed to the terms on taking out the policy, regarding early cancellation, and because you moved and they were unwilling to offer cover, what were you expecting? If you had paid in full at inception, I would have expected a pro-rata cancellation less the cancellation fee. As you were paying it monthly, this complicates it as further costs could be due to the intermediary and their cancellation(s).

Since your complaint is not that they did anything wrong, but you moved to a different property, and dislike what they did when you told them, that would get a sympathetic response, but not much else.

dunstonh

£12 seems like a very reasonable fee.

mikey72

Shame they blew it by the unfair £80 premium fee then.

dunstonh

why is the premium outstanding unfair?

DCFC79

£12 isn't too bad for a cancellation fee since they weren't the ones who moved.

emmarouth

Fair enough looks as though a complaint wouldn't actually achieve anything.

However, as shared housing isn't exactly an uncommon practice in London I am surprised that they weren't actually able to provide me with an alternative. Especially as I do have a locked door, which none of the other occupants of the property have access to. Other than now not having a personal kitchen my property is just as secure against others as it ever was.

I suppose I was expecting the charge to be pro rata, rather than having to pay for a service I am not getting - obviously I am wrong though, so I'll save myself the effort and just let it go.

Next time I'll just keep paying insurance for a property I don't live in and save myself £12!

Quentin

emmarouth wrote: »

Fair enough looks as though a complaint wouldn't actually achieve anything......I suppose I was expecting the charge to be pro rata, rather than having to pay for a service I am not getting - obviously I am wrong though, so I'll save myself the effort and just let it go. .......

Why do you think you are wrong?

When you cancel a santander policy they say you will have to pay a fee (the £12), and for the time on cover.

(Check your policy for your exact wording)

Assuming you haven't claimed during the current year, then a complaint should get them to abide by the conditions!!

mikey72

emmarouth wrote: »

I suppose I was expecting the charge to be pro rata, rather than having to pay for a service I am not getting - obviously I am wrong though, so I'll save myself the effort and just let it go.

Did you read the FOS link?